Move to Strike by Perri O'Shaughnessy Read Free Book Online Page B

lot.”
    “Too bad love can’t buy you money.”
    “You sound pretty tough, Nikki.”
    “She drives me crazy,” Nikki said. “And I’m worried about her. She needs me. She can’t take care of herself. I always thought that’s why my dad left. If only somebody had taught her to type or repair plumbing fixtures. Something practical, to bring in money. When she does get a job, she goofs up and gets fired right away. She never lets it get her down, though,” she said, reluctant admiration creeping into her voice. “Goes right back to her dancing and her fantasies of fame and fortune.”
    “I take it that your father wasn’t much good at being reliable either,” Nina said.
    Nikki’s face darkened. “Don’t bad-mouth my father.”
    “Sorry. I’m just trying to point out . . .”
    “Look, just make sure she pays the electric bill. It’s a mess if she doesn’t. If I don’t get out.”
    “Okay.” Nina checked her watch. Ten minutes to go. “They’ll bring you in shortly,” she said. “I have to go look for your mother.”
    She wanted to put her hand on the prickly girl’s shoulder, but knew better.
    Nikki was already waiting in the Juvenile Court when Nina came in with Daria. The Probation Department had acted with due diligence in filing the paperwork and contacting Daria, and the clerk had set this rapid hearing on the detention calendar for two P.M.
    The only other attendees were official: the court clerk, the bailiff, and the court reporter; the Juvenile Referee, Harold Vasquez; the Probation Department caseworker who had just been assigned to the case, Pearl Smith; and Barbara Banning, a deputy district attorney from the South Lake Tahoe office.
    Barbara gave Nina a formal nod as she came in, and Nina took that nod as the first blow in the legal war that started as of today. Barbara was a smart lawyer, still somewhat inexperienced, who had been taken under the wing and, it was rumored, into the bed of the county district attorney, Henry McFarland. Her status as Henry’s protégée was an early warning that Henry would try to have Nikki transferred into the adult criminal court system at the earliest opportunity.
    On top of that bad news, there was Barbara herself. Barbara disliked Nina for a number of reasons. Their adversarial positions, her natural competitiveness, and her fledgling-prosecutor disgust for lawyers base enough to choose to work as criminal defense attorneys, were only part of the problem. Barbara had made a determined play for Nina’s husband before he married Nina. His rejection must have hurt. Sitting down beside Nikki at the counsel table, Nina nodded back to Barbara. Daria sat down right behind them.
    “In re Nicole Zack,” Judge Vasquez said. Vasquez had been a juvenile probation officer before law school and had earned the trust of attorneys on both sides. First glancing at the petition in front of him, he then shot a quick, inquisitive look at Nikki over his glasses. A sixteen-year-old girl accused of a slashing murder did not come before him every day. Nina saw in that look the interest the media would also have in Nikki.
    “This is a hearing to determine whether the minor present today will remain in custody or whether some other disposition should be made. I see that this young lady has spent one night at the Juvenile Hall facilities. Ms. Zack, this is an informal hearing not subject to the rules of evidence, but you have a number of rights you should know.”
    He made sure that Daria had received notice of the hearing and was present, and took note of Nina’s appearance on Nikki’s behalf.
    “I see that we have been unable to locate the father,” he told Nina. “I take it the parents are divorced?”
    “Yes, that’s correct.”
    “Does the minor or her mother have any information as to his whereabouts? As a parent, he should know about this.”
    “He—he left the area more than five years ago,” Nina said. “Other than a few notes home, he hasn’t been